The invention relates to hollow stock filled with foam for making drawer sides, and to a method of manufacturing it. In particular the invention concerns extruded hollow drawer side stock or such stock formed from sheet metal.
Drawers for use in the manufacture of furniture are increasingly being manufactured with sides made from hollow plastic or metal stock; drawers whose sides are made from hollow metal stock are being used especially for large-size drawers which are subjected to loads of great weight. Hollow stock made from light metal alloys is used in making such drawer sides. Such material is very strong, has a relatively low specific weight, and can be made by extrusion in a great variety of shapes. Hollow metal stock extruded from aluminum alloys, however, is comparatively expensive due to the high invested cost of the extruders and extrusion dies that are needed.
According to an earlier patent application of the applicant, the possibility also exists of assembling the drawer-side hollow stock from at least two pieces bent from sheet metal which are laid one over the other lengthwise and joined together. In this manner more complex drawer-side stock can be assembled from relatively simple pieces which can be made by bending from strips of sheet metal. The applicant's earlier proposal was based on welding together superimposed portions of an upper part which includes, as the upper drawer side margin, an upper strip-like leg section serving as the upper drawer side margin, and, bent down therefrom, the upper portion of at least one web, and a lower part which includes one lower strip-like leg section holding the drawer bottom and at least one leg bent therefrom as the bottom web portion.
It has been found in practice, however, that drawers equipped with hollow metal sides of this kind are comparatively noisy in operation, since metal is easily made to vibrate, and the hollow spaces within the sides act as resonant cavities. This is true both of extruded hollow metal drawer sides and of those composed of separate sheet metal parts. Particularly in the case of drawer sides which are used in drawers without solid bottoms--in the case of cardfile drawers for example--it is found that sides consisting of resilient metal material are relatively liable to twisting. This is also true of drawer sides made from resilient hollow plastic stock.
The invention is therefore addressed to the problem of making available a hollow drawer side stock and a corresponding manufacturing process by which considerably improved running characteristics can be achieved in a cabinet drawer. In particular, easy, quiet action is made possible.